This site is maintained
and continually updated by the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service (DSGMAS)
Aquaculture and Fisheries Specialist as an educational resource about Inland
Bays shellfish aquaculture. It includes updates on the DNREC regulatory
development process; technical, economic, and environmental information; links
to other state shellfish aquaculture programs and industry activities; and
links to information of interest for prospective shellfish growers, and local
coastal community businesses and residents.

Please direct
any questions, suggestions or comments about the Inland Bays Shellfish
Aquaculture Page to

What’s
New?

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE)
comment period for proposed Inland Bays shellfish
bottom leases is now open. Corps
officials will take public comments and consider requests for public hearings
until Feb. 23, 2015. Comments can be submitted by email toedward.e.bonner@usace.army.milor in writing to the District
Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Wanamaker
Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA
19107-3390.

This document discusses the factors considered by the Corps of
Engineers (Corps) during the issuance process for this Nationwide Permit (NWP).
This document contains: (1) the public interest review required by Corps
regulations at 33 CFR 320.4(a)(I) and (2); (2) a discussion of the
environmental considerations necessary to comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act; and (3) the impact analysis specified in Subparts C
through F of the 404(b)(1) Guidelines (40 CFR Part 230). This evaluation of the
NWP includes a discussion of compliance with applicable laws, consideration of
public comments, an alternatives analysis, and a general assessment of
individual and cumulative impacts, including the general potential effects on
each of the public interest factors specified at 33 CFR 320.4(a).

Interstate
Shellfish Sanitation Conference(ISSC) -formed in 1982 to foster and promote
shellfish sanitation through the cooperation of state and federal control
agencies, the shellfish industry, and the academic community

North Carolina Shellfish Growers Association(NCSGA)
- founded in 1995 to
represent the interests of the many people involved in the shellfish industry.
As such it has a rather broad base of members including shellfish farmers, hatchery
operators, seafood dealers, educators, researchers, government regulators, and
service providers

National Shellfish Initiative
- The goal of the National Shellfish Initiative is to increase populations of
bivalve shellfish in our nation’s coastal waters through

commercial
production and conservation activities

Northeastern
Regional Aquaculture Center(NRAC) -The Northeastern Regional Aquaculture
Center, located at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland is
sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

National
Shellfisheries Association(NSA) -Founded in 1908, The NSA is an international organization of
scientists, management officials and members of industry, all concerned with
the biology, ecology, production, economics and management of shellfish
resources

Ocean State Shellfish Cooperative
- six different oyster farms in Rhode Island that together cover about 50
acres. Operating in different bodies of water along Rhode Island's coast, each
farm raises a variety of oyster, each with its own unique tastes and
characteristics

Shellfish and Aquaculture (pdf) by Dale Leavitt, Aquaculture Extension
Specialist, Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island - a good review of
shellfish biology and aquaculture, shellfish ecological services, and the role
of sediments in shellfish production